Follow by Email

Friday, February 10, 2017

APPS SPECIAL........ The 10 Work Apps to Watch in 2017

APPS SPECIAL The 10 Work Apps to
Watch in 2017

Odds are you're going to see more of these apps
in the workplace this year.

The apps we use at work and in our personal lives are always changing.
It's almost impossible to predict which ones will be popular tomorrow,
since more
than 1,000 apps are introduced every day. While
reviews and downloads from the App Store can indicate the popularity of some
apps, it's harder to determine just how valuable they are and how much they're
being used. It's even harder still to predict which apps will be popular in the
coming months. But at Okta, we have some unique insights into the popularity and
value of work apps. We're able to see how often employees actually log into and
use their apps, and how those apps will trend in popularity over time, since
organizations use our service to securely connect their people to technology.

We
recently looked
at our data--compiled from millions of users across
thousands of organizations and applications--and one of the findings our
customers and partners are often drawn to is the list of fastest-growing apps
in our network over the past six months. Some of these won't come as a
surprise, while others might be new names for you. Regardless, we think you'll
start to see these apps more in 2017.

1. Zoom:

As the
fastest-growing app in our network this year, Zoom has proved itself as a
valuable videoconferencing tool. The multi-platform app provides high-quality
video and audio, and offers online meeting spaces and a cross-platform
group-chat tool. We experienced the usability of Zoom when broadcasting our recent Businesses @ Work
event with the app. Considering the company's
recent $100
million round of series D financing from Sequoia, Zoom is well positioned to continue to improve company communication
over the coming years.

2. Cisco Umbrella:

The Cisco
Umbrella app is a cloud security platform that protects users from threats on
the internet across a wide range of devices. The platform blocks malware,
botnets, and phishing over any port, protocol, or app. It also has the power to
detect and contain attacks before they happen.

3. Slack:

Slack is the
fastest-growing collaboration tool in our network, which is no surprise given
its popularity over the past several years. The app improves workflows and team
communication by integrating with popular work tools such as Salesforce, Box,
and Trello and consumer services like Giphy, Kayak, Uber, and Lyft.

4. Zscaler:

Another
security solution gaining traction in our network is Zscaler. It's focus on
next-generation firewalls, sandboxing, SSL inspection, and vulnerability
management has made it the cloud-based internet security company to watch in
our network.

5. Jira:

Jira,
developed by Atlassian, is an agile project management tool that allows
developers to track issues and projects. It allows managers to grant
permissions, create and customize workflows, and develop custom issue types.

·

6. BambooHR:

The
fastest-growing recruiting app on our list this year, BambooHR provides
employee information in a single view. This allows teams to easily access,
organize, analyze, and control data.

7. Lucidchart:

Lucidchart
enables users to create an organizational chart or diagram in minutes. The
straightforward tool helps users sketch and share professional flowcharts,
while providing a range of templates, formatting capabilities, and shapes.
Interestingly enough, my co-founder Frederic Kerrest and I used Lucidchart to draw up early Okta product designs and
architecture.

8. Tableau:

Tableau's data
visualization application helps people see and understand important business
data. It gives users the ability to identify patterns and trends without using
any scripts, making data more digestible and easier to understand. We actually
use Tableau to organize the data in our network to create our annual Businesses @ Work report.

9. Instagram:

Instagram, the
photo- and video-sharing app, is the most recognizable consumer app on our
list. Considering the app's new story capabilities, it's no surprise that more
people are logging in at work--whether they should be or not.

10. SharePoint:

SharePoint's
mission is to help teams collaborate and share information. The document
management and storage solution is widely used across the workplace and is
still gaining traction among our customers.